Deck 3: Primates Past to Present

Question 1

The first definitive fossil evidence for primates is from:

A) The Pliocene
B) The Oligocene
C) The Miocene
D) The Eocene

Answer 1

D

Question 2

No fossil primates from the Eocene have yet been found in:

A) North America
B) South America
C) Asia
D) Europe

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The diverse anthropoids found in Egypt come from deposits:

A) In the Eocene
B) In the Oligocene
C) In the Miocene
D) In the Pleistocene

Answer 3

B

Question 4

From the beginning to the end of the Miocene, the diversity of:

A) Monkey species decreased and lemur species increased
B) Monkey species decreased and ape species increased
C) Ape species decreased and monkey species increased
D) Ape and monkey species decreased

Question 5

Ardipithecus is classified as:

A) An ancient hominid
B) An ancient hominoids
C) An ancient platyrrhines
D) An ancient strepsirhines

Question 6

The first anthropoid fossils are dated to:

A) The Oligocene
B) The Miocene
C) The Pliocene
D) The Pleistocene

Question 7

The Pleistocene glaciations led to:

A) The contraction of tropical forests
B) The contraction of tropical grasslands
C) The evolution of bipedal hominids
D) The evolution of colobines

Question 8

Endemic species:

A) Are similar to one another
B) Have widespread geographic distributions
C) Are confined to localized regions
D) Represent adaptive radiations from the early cenozoic

Question 9

Habitat fragmentation can lead to:

A) Increased gene flow between populations
B) Increased genetic diversity within populations
C) Increased mutation rates
D) Increased risks of extinction

Question 10

In taxonomic assessments, "lumpers" and "splitters" differ in their interpretations of:

A) Ontogenetic variation
B) Intraspecific variation
C) Ecological variation
D) The factors that affect extinction risks

Question 11

Taxonomic classifications affect:

A) The interpretation of behavioral diversity
B) Rates of speciation
C) Risks of extinction
D) The role of ecology in primate evolution

Question 12

Which of the following species has a multi-layered society in which one-male units are the smallest?

A) Cotton-top marmosets
B) Olive baboons
C) Hamadryas baboons
D) Japanese macaques

Question 13

The diversification of lemurs exemplifies:

A) Extensive hybridization
B) Adaptive radiation
C) The effects of continental drift
D) Gene flow

Question 14

The Fayum fossils are best known for:

A) A diverse set of clearly identifiable platyrrhines
B) The oldest known strepsirhines
C) The highly successful gelada baboons
D) A diversity of anthropoids

Question 15

What do the ancestors of modern lemurs and platyrrhines have in common?

A) Prehensile tails
B) Having rafted or otherwise traversed what is now water to reach their respective habitats
C) A shared haplorhine ancestor
D) Societies in which males typically remain in their natal groups

Question 16

Beginning with the Eocene, list each of geological epochs and the major primate evolutionary radiation associated with them.

Question 17

Explain what is meant by the Mosaic Nature of Human Evolution?

Question 18

Discuss why hybrids, such as the baboons in the Awash Valley of Ethiopia, challenge the traditional biological definition of a species.

Question 19

List and discuss two criteria that are used in classifying the status of threatened primates.

Question 20

Discuss the effects of continental drift and climatic changes on the biogeographic distribution of primates during their evolutionary history.

Question 21

Discuss the role of taxonomy in conservation.

Question 22

More than a dozen new species of primates have been discovered by scientists during the past two decades. Most of the new species discovered have been callitrichids and prosimians, which are relatively small compared to most other monkeys and apes. Using your knowledge of the allometric relationship between body size and life history traits, explain why isolated populations of small primates may evolve more rapidly than those of large primates that occur sympatrically.

Question 23

How do predictions about the effects of contemporary global climate change on primate biodiversity differ from the effects of environmental changes that contributed to the adaptive radiations in primate evolutionary history?